Many brain tumor patients turn to Alternative Therapies
According to a new study, about 40 percent of patients with incurable brain tumors use alternative therapies in addition to conventional treatments. German researchers asked 621 patients with incurable grade II to grade IV gliomas (tumors) about their use of alternative therapies. The study also found that younger patients, women and those with higher levels of education were more likely to use alternative therapies than older patients, men and those with less education.
consumer.healthday.com, December 13, 2010
Home monitors can aid blood pressure control
A new research review finds that home blood pressure monitors can help people keep their blood pressure in check and possibly cut down on medication as long as the patients and their doctors put those home readings to good use. The analysis of 37 international clinical trials found that on average, adults with high blood pressure who were assigned to use home monitors saved a few points off their blood pressure compared with counterparts who stuck with doctor's office measurements alone. The home monitor users were also twice as likely to reduce the number of blood pressure medications they needed.
www.reuters.com, December 10, 2010
Meditation soothes multiple sclerosis patients
A new Swiss study reports that a form of meditation known as mindfulness may help patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a nervous system disease that typically surfaces in early adulthood and can cause muscle weakness, coordination / balance problems and thinking and memory problems, among the other symptoms often suffer from depression and anxiety. The study compared multiple sclerosis patients who meditated to MS patients who didn't. Those in the meditation program, in fact improved in almost all the measures of fatigue, depression, anxiety and quality of life, while those who received usual medical care declined slightly on most of the measures.
consumer.healthday.com, September 28, 2010
European study estimates H1N1 vaccine effectiveness at 72%
According to findings from a case-control study, the vaccine for pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza was about 72% effective across seven European countries. The results of this study provide early estimates of the pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness suggesting that the monovalent pandemic vaccines have been effective. The study involved 2,902 patients with influenza like illnesses (ILI) from France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain during the 2009-2010 seasons. As expected, vaccines that were delivered fewer than 8 days before the onset of ILI symptoms showed a relatively low adjusted effectiveness rate (19%), compared with 67% among those who were vaccinated more than 14 days before symptom onset.
www.internalmedicinenews.com, January 13, 2011
Obesity rising across all income levels: CDC
Two reports from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) showed that the obesity epidemic was hitting young and older Americans across the economic spectrum. The NCHS noted that by 2008 more than a third of American adults were obese, as well as nearly 17 percent of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years. Children raised in homes where the head of household had a college degree were less prone to become obese versus kids raised in households headed by someone without such education. However, this relationship was not consistent across race and ethnicity groups, the NCHS report found.
consumer.healthday.com, December 14, 2010
Health tips: slow down when you eat
If you have resolved to lose weight, taking the time to savor your food may be an easy way to help you eat less.
The American Dietetic Association suggests how to eat slower:
• Put down your utensils between each bite.
• Use chopsticks instead of Western utensils.
• Chew your food completely before swallowing.
• Make meal time a social time. Engage in conversation to stretch out the meal and interrupt your eating.
www.healthscout.com, January 14, 2011
Walking helps lower diabetes risk
According to Australian researchers, the more you walk, the lower your risk of diabetes. The scientists tracked 592 middle-aged adults who participated in a study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005. Participants underwent a health examination at the start of the study and provided details about their eating and lifestyle habits. Follow-up with the participants five years later showed that a higher daily step count was associated with a lower body-mass index (BMI), lower waist-to-hip ratio and better insulin sensitivity, even after adjusting for factors such as diet, smoking and alcohol intake.
www.businessweek.com, January 13, 2011
Blueberries daily lowers high blood pressure risk by 10 percent
The findings that the blueberries can stave off hypertension come from anthocyanins. In the study, researchers found eating one serving of the berries per day lowered their chances of developing high blood pressure 10 percent. The researchers studied blueberries because they are especially rich in the flavonoid that has antioxidant properties and commonly consumed in the U.S. The researchers studied 134,000 women and 47,000 men from the Harvard established cohorts, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study over a 14 year span. The overall findings showed lower risk of high blood pressure from eating foods with anthocyanins, the bioactive component found in blueberries.
www.emaxhealth.com, January 14, 2011
